Hi there, no apology needed! The final 'batch' of videos will be uploaded around the end of this month and the DVDs will be available very shortly thereafter. As soon as we have a firm ship date from our duplicators we will post that information here on the site. The pre-release special price will obviously go away once the DVD is released but you have a few weeks left to take advantage of that, for sure. It is still probably worth getting that price + downloads unless the sucking of your PC is really stupendous.

Any update on when the remaining content will be available?

We are starting to upload the final sections this week. The introduction, which actually is free, should be live 6/9/10 and the other sections will be going up daily until complete.

If anyone has the answer as to why the final stages always take so long... there again we suspect that as fellow recording people you all know and suffer that already.

Just making sure I don't have some weird caching problem but it seems that only the intro has gone up, and can't be downloaded? I thought that most of the last batch were to be posted by this stage?

i wont apologize for asking when this will finally ship.
the "stories" of release at end of month are over a year old now.
if the vids are in the can they should be online no matter the duplicator issue.....but they aren't online because they aren't done.
i am beginning to belive this is vaporware that i paid for long ago.
just be honest..no promises just honest projected ship date.
so when is it?

Hello,

I'm in the same boat as "Perceive" above, i.e., the newly released "introduction" can't be downloaded (it's not available to me in my account / purchases area - - despite the fact I paid the $99 for the pre-release months way back in Dec 2009).

I have been able to successfully download all the videos you have thus far released and understand the last batch is nearly completion. However, it would sure be nice if you could also move the newly released "introduction" by Alan Parson over to end user's "My purchases" section within your website so we can download it too.

Looking forward to getting the last batch of videos to download here towards the end of the month, (estimated upload dates from what I understand via reading your forum). However, you can easily allow paying end users to download your newly released intro video in the mean time. Thanks in advance.

So sorry, yes, we have not added the INTRO to pre-order customers' My Purchases page but this is due to happen within hours, along with the first of the final batch - GUITARS.

The introduction is now in My Purchases page after going through the process of a zero dollar transaction, however I cannot download it to go along with all the other content I have purchased. will this be made available in a downloadable format to go with all the other chapters?

Hello Assr,

Thank you for uploading the last two videos and for listening to my earlier comments above as evidence by your following through via actions, i.e., uploading the "intro" to paying end users' "my purchases" section of the web site so we could download them.

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Here is where we find ourselves now:

Missing videos as of 16 June 2010

See the following URL for all the videos: http://www.artandscienceofsound.com/about

Get videos from following URL: https://www.artandscienceofsound.com/bookmarks (must be signed in)

Missing from Disc # 1:

None

Missing from Disc # 2:

- Video # 6: A Live Tracking Session;

- Video # 7: Vocals;

- Video # 8: Internet Recording.

Missing from Disc # 3:

- Video # 7: Approaches To Live Recording;

- Video # 9: Dealing With Disasters

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And here is what currently is available for download by all paying end users' (I've easily downloaded all of the available ones (except of course the "missing" ones annotated above):

DVD ONE

1. An Introduction To Recording: Alan ParsonsAlan introduces the program from the GRAMMY museum in Los Angeles, tracing the development of sound recording from Edison to MP3.

2. Studio Acoustics: We look at the science of sound and acoustics from the perspective of constructing a brand new studio space at Keyfax NewMedia’s California production facilities. Alan speaks with Auralex senior acoustician Gavin Haverstick and to studio designer Chris Pelonis about isolation, room modes, budgets, studio layout and more.

3. Microphones: Filmed mainly at his own studio in Santa Barbara, Alan investigates microphones from the ground up. What is a mic? How do the various types of mic work? Polar patterns, characteristics, applications and techniques. Input along the way from self-confessed mic junkie John McBride (from Blackbird studios in Nashville), Jonas Brothers producer John Fields, and top film / orchestral engineer Simon Rhodes from Abbey Road.

4. Consoles And Controllers: Consoles, Starting with Alan re-discovering the EMI desk on which he recorded Dark Side Of The Moon (that now resides in Los Angeles), Alan looks at the most complex-looking piece of equipment in any studio, real or virtual. Knob-by-knob explanations are followed by an experiment with analog summing vs. mixing in the box, and finally a look at the role of controllers in the world of DAWs. With some invaluable insights from Jack Joseph Puig, Patrick Leonard, and Niko Bolas.

5. Digital Audio And Computers: Alan ParsonsReel-to-reel tape recorders are obsolete. Recording has become a totally computer-based activity. What can be learned from the veterans of the analog recording art and what knowledge can be carried over to the digital world? Alan takes us on an extensive tour of the equipment currently available – hardware, interfaces, applications, software plug-ins and disc drives. With the help of producers like John Shanks and artists like Michael McDonald, he investigates both the advantages and pitfalls of record-making in the 21st Century.

6. Monitoring: We visit Record One in Los Angeles, home to Thriller among many others where Alan quizzes Ocean Way Recording owner and speaker designer Allen Sides. Not everyone can trade their house for a set of loudspeakers, though, and this section covers all the bases from high-end studio systems, through to classic nearfields such a Yamaha’s NS10s, to headphones and even ear buds. What is important about monitoring is that you can trust what you hear and this section clearly sets out the parameters and practices to follow.

7. MIDI: MIDI began life as a keyboard-aid but it went on to help establish the digital revolution that has transformed to entire recording landscape. Alan talks to MIDI founder Dave Smith, then looks at the ways MIDI recording is still widely used in film, dance music, and many other genres. The section explains exactly what MIDI is, and can do, in simple terms. Finally!

Disc # 2:

1. EQ: EQA large part of being able to conduct a good recording is knowing how to listen. This section not only provides fact-based answers as to EQ frequencies and the various ways they can be adjusted, it also gives you tools that you can use to train yourself how to ‘hear’ more analytically.

2. Compressors And Limiters: A complex subject, and one frequently misunderstood and much argued about. Alan defines terms, explains parameters, provides instrument-by-instrument examples, and then explains the consequences. Universal Audio’s Bill Putnam Jr. is interviewed, plus there are wonderful insights into use and misuse from Steve Marcantonio, Niko Bolas, John Fields, and Allen Sides.

3. Noise Gates: We discover the invention and development of the noise gate and examine both its original purpose and eventual role in sound recording. A range of gate applications are set up and explained, including changing sound envelopes, creating our own gated reverbs, side-chaining, and more. Both hardware and software gates are featured in this section, along with explanations of their relative merits.

4. Reverb: This section traces the history and progress in artificial reverb technology, then takes a parameter-by-parameter look at digital reverb settings, hardware and software reverb products, and application of reverb to individual instruments and entire mixes. Interview clips from Elliot Scheiner, John Shanks, and others complete this highly revealing section.

5. Delays: Alan ParsonsRelated to the earlier section, Delays looks at the application and use of this time-based effect along with its cousins: flanging, phasing, and multi-tap FX. There are some fascinating hands-on experiments with different type of delay in this section.

6. A Live Tracking Session: Alan wrote a brand new ‘Alan Parsons’ track for this DVD set and this section offers a fly-on-the-wall (or reality show – take your pick) seat in the studio. How does Alan turn a drum loop and chord sequence into a song? What’s the value of a ‘live’ tracking session, where musicians actually get to play together? What are the issues? All and more are revealed in this section featuring Simon Phllips on drums, Nathan East on bass, Tim Pierce on guitar, and Rami Jaffee on piano. This is a real gem.

7. Vocals: VocalsProbably the most crucial – and complex – part of modern recording. This section looks at and talks with singers both experienced and inexperienced and vocal techniques from both singer’s and engineer’s perspectives. Michael McDonald offers priceless information, as do a raft of producers, engineers, and vocal coaches. Techniques such as comping, and pitch correction are both looked at in detail.

8. Internet Recording: Few people doubt that the internet represents ‘a’ if not ‘the’ solution as to how we will conduct recordings in the future. Question is, right now, exactly how? We look at one of the currently available systems on a vocal session. It’s 9AM for Alan in California while the singer, working from his own studio Michigan, is ready for lunch. That’s just one of the issues.

Disc # 3:

1. Drums: Simon Phillips provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the art and science of recording drums ever undertaken. From tuning, to acoustics, to mic usage, to recording approaches, Simon and Alan provide the tools to getting a great drum sound – one of the consistently most elusive aspects of modern recording. Drummer of The Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins is also interviewed.

2. Keyboards: From string pads, to FX and beatmaking, to genuine Hammond B3 or piano playing – the role of keyboard player can be wide and deep. Alan looks at both the playing and ‘programming’ aspects of recording keyboards. How to mic an acoustic piano, how to mic a Leslie speaker cabinet, and also how to manage keyboard parts and sounds so that they work within a track. Foo Fighters / Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee is the featured player in this section.

3. Bass: Bass may not be the most complex instrument to record but its role in rock, pop, and hip-hop is absolutely crucial. Alan discusses bass recording techniques with Nathan East during a live tracking session for a new Alan Parsons track, All Our Yesterdays and also meets one of his long-time bass heroes, Carol Kaye, who contributed to many groundbreaking records with Phil Spector, Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys and others in the sixties and seventies.

4. Guitar: Guitar recording has developed considerably since Alan first helped to record guitar heroes such as George Harrison, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour back in the 1970s. Alan visits top LA session man Tim Pierce at his own studio in L.A’s San Fernando Valley and looks at parts, sounds, effects and approaches in this fascinating look at how guitar and guitar processing has evolved over the past twenty or thirty years.

5. Acoustic Guitar With Voice: A common recording conundrum is tackled in this section. How do you record both, simultaneously, without one bleeding into the other? A range of physical and technical solutions are provided.

6. Recording A Choir: Every school, college, and church has a choir that would like to be recorded for posterity. Alan visits a California High School and captures a magical performance – not in a studio, or concert venue – but in the challenging setting of a multi-purpose school hall. Learn how a careful set-up and skilled post-production can elicit a wonderful result.

7. Approaches To Live Recording: The Alan Parsons Live Project at The Grove Theatre in Anaheim, California, filmed early in 2009, provides a colorful backdrop for this brief but informative section on the challenges posed by live recording in a concert setting.

8. Mixing: The mix is where the rubber hits the road for any recording. Conducted primarily at LA’s Record One studios, where Michael Jackson’s last three albums were recorded and mixed, Alan takes us through every stage of a mix from preparation to delivery media in this fascinating and extensive section. Good working practices (consolidation, track sheets, notes and more) are proposed, along with the chance to see so many of the program’s previous technical sections – EQ, reverb, digital audio and computers – come to life. A variety of mixing settings, from working with an analog console to wholly “in the box” are shown and discussed.

9. Dealing With Disasters: A ‘bad day’ in the studio can sometimes turn into a complete crisis. The final section looks at ways to avoid getting into – as well as climbing back out from – disastrous recording situations.

*************************

So bottom line is we're almost to the finish line here. I don't know why others are posting such negative comments and acting like you're selling "vaporware" for obviously you have followed through on what you said you would do, i.e., give a lower price to pre-orders and give them the opportunity to download videos as they are released (with DVDs coming at a later date too). Thanks for following through from a very happy customer.

Cheers!

Bob

I agree that I don't understand the negative comments. It's taken a while but I always expect that there are likely going to be delays with anything prepaid. It's annoying, but its life. At worst I keep thinking that my browsers cache is what is stopping me from seeing the new stuff. Thankfully that hasn't happened yet... or has it? ;-)

Hi assr,

The "Vocals" section seems to have vanished from the menu section.
Is it in the process of being uploaded?

Looking forward to the remaining sections becoming available for viewing!

Regards.

Could someone there post a timetable now for posting the final sections online and the release of the DVD? This project seems to be taking a long time to complete.

Thanks

Agreed. I paid for something I thought was going to release over a month ago. Endless promises that something is going to be done is all well and good, but that doesn't get the product into my hands any faster. Please finish this, and soon. If I have to wait much longer, I'm going to start clamouring for my money back.

You are completely and 100% entitled to voice your concerns over the final delivery. Although we, as the production company, are at the mercy of creative processes and the delays that such can introduce, we are very, very sorry not to have been able to ship the DVDs by now.

The good news is that 100% of the content is now finished and in three languages - English, German, and Spanish. Everything will be available online by this weekend and the final assembly of the DVD is already in progress. We continue to be extremely grateful for those who have pre-ordered's patience and hope that the discount, plus ability to view everything online, is and has been some compensation.

As soon as we have a delivery date back from our duplicators we will notify all pre-order customers. We will be contacting all registered people on the site this week to announce the date when 'pre-order discount' will no longer be available - that in itself is a great sign!

Again, thanks for bearing with us on this lengthy but hopefully well worthwhile project.

Well it has been some time since I checked in on this I almost forgot I ordered it in way back in March. Truthfully the delays and unfulfilled statements made by the ASSR production crew have been some of the largest blunders I have ever experienced when purchasing a physical product. You say things will be online by a certain date, and time and time again they are not. Endless sympathy replies have been made by ASSR requesting us to be patient, but in the end "we" are still waiting.

Why don't you all get your act together over there. I work in the audio industry as well and this is starting to become ridiculous. Audio and Video editing is not rocket science.

Maybe before the end of 2010 I will get this...

Its all up there now.

Perhaps it would have shown more prudence to have checked that first, before slagging them off.

Whilst I agree it has been a long time coming, personally I didnt mind waiting a bit longer for something of such great and unique quality as these videos. I'll always be grateful to Alan Parsons for that.

I am pretty sure I recall coming across adverts for this DVD series on Alans website back in the winter of 2008 with a note saying that it was 'coming soon.' Well it's nearly September 2010 now and, although the material has been posted online, the DVDs are still 'coming soon'.

The material posted is excellent and I have no significant compliants. The price is really good too so no complaints there either. However, the project management on this is pants. Like someone else wrote - this isn't rocket science.

Do I mind waiting? Not really. Like Chancey said, this is a unique and 'quality' resource and I am grateful to Alan for what he has achieved but someone is letting him down.